Russell Brand has opened up about his drugs battle for a new British documentary in a bid to inspire addicts to embark on abstinence-based recovery.

The comedian fought substance abuse and alcohol addiction for many years, but turned his back on drugs in 2002 and he doesn't drink.

He looks back on his health battle in his documentary called Russell Brand: From Addiction to Recovery, and he admits the 2011 death of his friend, singer Amy Winehouse prompted him to make the film.

"Ten years ago, I couldn't get enough - cannabis, booze, speed, acid, coke, crack, smack. I took drugs every single day," Brand said.

"I remember being told that in six months I would end up dead, in prison or a lunatic asylum and thinking, 'That sounds heavy'. "

Brand, 37, said he also wanted to highlight how addicts can address their issues by abstaining from drugs rather than using treatments such as methadone.

On BBC's Newsnight on Friday (local time) he said: "Perhaps that (Winehouse's death) was a catalyst in my decision to make the documentary but primarily it was because I wanted more people to be aware of the possibility of abstinence-based recovery, which I believe to be the true solution to the problem and disease of alcoholism and addiction."

"It's having a programme and a method to deal with a life free from drugs.''

Brand has also called on officials in the UK to overhaul the laws on drug use in the country.

"I don't think the criminalisation works ... and as a recovering drug addict I know that when I was using, the legal status of the drugs that I used made no difference.''

-AAP